Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd has agreed to bring Terminal Investment Ltd, the Geneva-based terminal operating arm of Switzerland’s MSC Group, into Vizhinjam port in Kerala, giving India’s newest deep-water container port a global shipping partner and a valuation marker likely to draw close scrutiny.

Terminal Investment will invest $1.397 billion, or about ₹13,221 crore, for a 49% stake in Adani Vizhinjam Port Pvt. Ltd, the concessionaire for the port.

The transaction values Vizhinjam at $2.85 billion, or about ₹26,971 crore, Adani Ports said.

The company said the investment is subject to customary and regulatory approvals.

The deal is the third major partnership between Adani Ports and MSC Group after earlier ventures at Mundra in Gujarat and Ennore in Tamil Nadu.

Vizhinjam port is designed as a deep-draft transshipment hub close to the east-west international shipping route, allowing large container vessels to call near the Indian coast rather than rely on overseas hubs such as Colombo, Singapore and Port Klang for container relay.

Adani Ports said Vizhinjam has capacity of 1.6 million twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, and is being expanded to 5.7 million TEUs by December 2028.

The port, commissioned in December 2024, handled 1.3 million TEUs in FY26, crossed 2 million TEUs within 18 months of operations and received its 1,000th vessel in June.

The commercial case rests on cargo visibility. MSC Group is the world’s largest container shipping company, and an equity link with its terminal arm could help Vizhinjam secure volumes faster than a standalone domestic operator might.

For Adani Ports, the deal brings in capital for a large expansion project while allowing it to retain control through a 51% holding.

Kerala to examine deal

The proposed stake sale also carries a state-level approval question. The Kerala government has said Adani cannot proceed with any ownership change in the Vizhinjam project without prior approval from the state.

State chief minister V.D. Satheesan told the Kerala assembly that the government had not received any communication or proposal from Adani Ports and had learned of the proposed stake sale through media reports.

“Adani Ports has not sent any communication or information to the government. No proposal has come before us. When it comes, we will examine it,” Satheesan said.

If cleared, the deal could strengthen Vizhinjam’s claim as India’s most serious answer to overseas transshipment hubs. If it slows, the port’s commercial momentum will have to run through the familiar filter of concession terms, approvals and state oversight.